"So this is Sootopolis City!"

Serena stepped out of the submarine that had taken her from Lilycove City to Sootopolis City. She was finally able to see why the Wallace Cup was being held here, and why Wallace was a water-type trainer. The city was surrounded on almost all sides by water, and the huge rock formation that hid it away from the rest of the world. The only way in and out of Sootopolis City is underwater, so the only wild Pokemon that could've ended up here naturally were water-types.

She brought out her guidebook and found directions to the Pokemon Center. She smiled confidently. It was time to finally show the whole world what she could do.

Maybe a special someone, somewhere, would be watching her.

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Mallow was awakened by the airplane's turbulence as it descended to the ground at the Lilycove City airport. As she opened her eyes, she felt a hand rub her shoulder.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. We're here."

Mallow groggily looked towards the source of the voice. She tilted her head upwards and saw Ash's face very close to her own, smiling at her. She looked back down, shutting her eyes again as she nuzzled back into Ash's shoulder, clearly still drowsy.

"I know you're tired, but we're just about to land in Lilycove City! You don't want to be left on the plane by yourself, do you?"

Just after he finished talking, the plane hit the ground, causing everyone bounce in their seats. Mallow opened her eyes, finally lifting her head from Ash's shoulder and rubbing her eyes. "I guess not."

Ash smiled at her, to which she smiled lightly back at him. Mallow looked down to find Pikachu and Shaymin still curled up together on her lap, but Pikachu was awake and looking up at her. "Pika?"

Mallow smiled. "Hey, Pikachu." She scratched its head, earning a smile and a light, content cry from the electric-type.

She looked back to Ash and smiled at him. "Thanks for letting me borrow your shoulder, Ash. I hope I didn't bother you too much."

Ash grinned at her. "Of course. No worries."

The plane soon docked and the passengers began to exit. As the group finally got out of the narrow passage and into the Lilycove airport, they all stretched a bit, stiff from sitting still for so long. The airport was crowded, much more crowded that the Hau'oli airport. It was clear that there many different types of people coming to Hoenn for many different reasons, though talk of the Wallace Cup seemed to be ever present in the air.

Ash was the most relieved to be off the plane. Pikachu had found his way back to his home on Ash's shoulder, and the duo stretched in unison. "Ahh... we're finally off the plane, and finally in Hoenn again! I can't wait to explore and see what's changed since last time we were here!"

"Pikachu!"

"Now, now, you two, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still have to pick up our bags and check into the Pokémon Center before we can do anything else. First things first." Professor Kukui said and he walked up behind Ash, followed by his wife and the Principal.

Ash smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess you're right."

As everyone finally collected themselves, they began to walk amongst the crowd toward the exit of the airport, making sure to stay close so as to avoid losing anyone from the group. They all collected their luggage from the baggage claim area and finally left the airport. Everyone broke out into huge smiles as they finally got the chance to look around Lilycove City, seeing all the people wandering around and places to go.

"This place is huge! It's way bigger than Hau'oli City!" Mallow exclaimed.

"You're right! Look at all the people and the tall buildings!" Sophocles agreed.

Lana sniffed the air, then smiled contentedly. "And we're right next to the ocean, so you can still feel the breeze of the sea and smell it in the air! The air doesn't feel like a big city!"

"I'm ready to see some Pokémon native to Hoenn, I already see so many that I don't recognize!" Kiawe noted.

Ash grabbed the brim of his hat, feeling the wave of nostalgia wash over him. "This place is ringin' a bell, right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" It nodded, smiling.

Lillie turned to Professor Kukui. "Which way is the Pokémon Center, professor?"

Kukui took a map out of his pocket and studied it for a moment. He pointed off to the left. "Let's head 10 o' clock, gang."

Ash pumped his fist. "Right! I'm so psyched! Let's go!!"

The rest of the students pumped their fists too. "Yeah!!"

Ash lead the group in the direction of the Pokémon Center, careful to continue staying tightly packed and avoid being held up by the all the people passing by.

"Ash, do you actually know where the Pokémon Center is?" Mallow asked after a while of following him, tilting her head in suspicion.

Ash's smiled a bit nervously and scratched his face. "Um... it's been a while, so not really."

"Of course..."

"That's our Ash." Lillie said, smiling.

"Don't worry, this is the right way. We're almost there." Kukui said.

"You got lucky this time, Ash." Kiawe said, smirking slightly.

Ash laughed nervously, scratching his face again as he continued walking alongside the streets of Lilycove, and still at the head of the group of Alolan schoolfolk.

As they arrived at the Pokémon Center and the automatic door slid open, they saw that the building was packed with people, mostly tourists, all going to see Wallace Cup. Ash waved as they entered. "Nurse Joy! Can you help us?"

The nurse looked up from her computer at her desk, Chansey by her side. "Yes, of course! What can I do for you?"

Professor Kukui spoke up. "We need to book some rooms for tonight, please. There are eight of us."

Nurse Joy smiled sweetly. "You're just in time! I've got just two rooms left that'll be perfect. There are four beds in each one."

Kukui nodded. "Thank you very much, Nurse Joy."

He turned back to his wife and his students. "How about we do the boys in one room and the girls in the other? That work for everyone?"

"Yes sir!" Everyone nodded.

"Wow, Nurse Joy, you certainly have your work cut out for you." Lillie said.

Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, of course! It's always busy in the big city, but it's extra busy for the Wallace Cup! There's no airport in Sootopolis City, so many people have to travel through here and take a submarine trip to get there."

She motioned to the side with her hand. "But it's all okay! I got sent a helper from the Pokémon Doctor's training school! He's my intern as the crowds move out of and back into Lilycove City!"

Everyone turned in the direction Nurse Joy motioned to, and saw figure pushing a cart with a Pokémon on it towards them. He finally came out of the hallway as the Pokémon Center jingle was played, showing that the Pokémon on the cart had made a full recovery; the Pokémon in question was a Vibrava.

Ash gasped and pointed. "Hey!! It's Brock!!"

Everyone gasped and smiled. "It really is Brock!" Lana said in surprise.

Brock turned to where he heard his name called. He gasped and smiled wide. "Hey!! If it isn't Ash!! And everyone too!"

As the Vibrava's trainer thanked Brock and returned it to its Poke Ball, he pushed the cart back into the hallway and ran over to meet up with everyone. "I can't believe you're all here! It's so nice to see you all! How is everyone doing?"

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu happily jumped from Ash's shoulder to Brock's. Brock laughed in response, scratching under its chin. "Hey, Pikachu! It's nice to see you too, bud."

"We're all doing great! We're on a field trip to see the Wallace Cup!" Ash said in response.

Nurse Joy motioned to Brock. "So you all know each other! Brock has been a huge help with the recent rush of people coming into the Pokémon Center."

Brock smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. But I'm just doing my part to help out around here. It's my job now!"

"That's so cool that you're getting real hands-on experience now, Brock! This can't be an easy workload for you." Ash said.

"No, you're right about that. But I'm always happy to help out, and it's great to see so many different Pokémon from so many different regions coming together here. It's really great experience for me!" Brock said, making a fist, almost resembling something Ash would do.

"But, I'm actually going to go see the Wallace Cup too! Would you all mind if I tagged along with you tomorrow when you leave?" Brock asked.

Everyone gasped in excitement. "Brock, that would be so awesome! Right, everyone?" Ash asked.

"For sure!" Mallow said. Kiawe nodded in agreement.

"It would be wonderful to have you with us!" Lillie said excitedly.

"Of course, Brock! Please, meet us in the lobby tomorrow morning!" Kukui said, smiling.

"Right!" Brock nodded.

"Pikachu!" The mouse agreed from Brock's shoulder.

"It'll be just like old times! We'll be watching a contest together!" Ash said, holding out his fist to Brock.

"Yeah, it'll be great, Ash!" Brock returned the gesture.

"Great! Now that that's settled, I wanna go shopping!!!" Mallow said with excitement, looking at her two female classmates.

"Me too, me too! I wanna see all the cool shops and things we can buy in such a big city!" Lana agreed.

"Oh, yes! Let's go see all the lovely regional clothes, too!" Lillie exclaimed.

Mallow turned to Ash with a teasing grin on her face. "You're coming too, right, Ash?"

As Pikachu jumped back to Ash's shoulder, he saw his trainer look at him in sheer terror. "Uh... gotta run!"

Before Ash could go anywhere, he was grabbed by the hand, freezing him in place. He turned around in terror to find Mallow had stopped him. "Ash, you're coming with us, right??"

Before he could answer, Mallow started dragging him towards the exit anyway. Ash sighed, surrendering to the girls. He knew by this point that there was no point to arguing or trying to against what the girls wanted. "Why am I doing this again?"

"Well, someone has to carry our bags."

"You're such a gentleman, Ash!" Lillie remarked as she leaned in towards him, grinning playfully. Brock and Ash's male classmates watched on, entertained by the scene.

Ash sighed again. This was going to be a long day.

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"Hey, where did Ash go?"

"Did he get away?"

The three girls looked around the shop they were in, searching for said boy and his partner. He was nowhere to be found. It surely didn't help that just about every shop was fairly packed with people.

"All these people must've given Ash a way to escape us. He'll pay for this." Mallow said, mock-seriously.

Lillie laughed. "Well, it's okay, we haven't actually bought anything yet. But we should definitely pick up some souvenirs or something while we're here!"

"Yeah, you're right." Lana agreed, looking around. They were on the third floor of the Lilycove Department store. She spotted some fancy-looking watches inside a looking glass, all lined up in showcase. "Hey, what are these?"

Lillie and Mallow walked up to the glass on either side of Lana. "Not sure." Lillie said.

"Those are Poketches!"

"Huh?"

They all turned toward the direction of the voice to find a girl about their age with blue hair, wearing a black blouse and a pink skirt that was a little too short, along with pink boots and a white hat. She also had a small blue penguin Pokémon on top of her head.

"Poketches?" Mallow asked.

"Yeah! See? I've got one!" The girl lifted her wrist and pointed. "They started in Sinnoh, and they're so popular these days that they've made their way to Hoenn too! But this one here is one of the earlier designs from Sinnoh."

"So then, are you from Sinnoh?" Lillie asked in curiosity.

"That's right. My name's Dawn, and up there is my partner, Piplup! It's nice to meet you all!" She reached out her hand for them to shake.

"Nice to meet you Dawn, I'm Mallow." She shook Dawn's hand, still keeping one arm around Shaymin.

"I'm Lana! This here is Sandy." She waved.

"And I'm Lillie. My partner is Snowy!"

"Mallow, is that a Shaymin in your arms??" Dawn asked, clearly surprised.

Mallow smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, but it's not actually my Pokémon. I'm just taking care of it until the Gracideas bloom back home in Alola."

"I see. So you all are from the Alola region. I've heard of it!" She turned to Lillie. "So is your Vulpix from Alola too? I've never seen a white one before."

Lillie nodded. "Yes, this is Vulpix's Alolan form. It's an Ice type!"

"Wow, that's so cool! So, what are you all doing so far away from home?" Dawn asked.

"Well, we're actually on a school field trip. We're going to see the Wallace Cup!" Lana said excitedly.

"No way, really? Well, I'm gonna be competing!" Dawn announced.

The three Alolan girls gasped in excitement. "That's amazing! You're a coordinator?" Mallow asked.

"That's right! I'm currently travelling in the Johto Region, but I've come here to compete since the Wallace Cup ribbon counts towards any region's Grand Festival!" Dawn said.

Lana squinted. "Hmm... now that you mention it, I feel like I recognize you from somewhere..."

Lillie stroked her chin. "I also can't help but feel like I may have seen you before."

"Really? Well I have been in quite a bit of Pokémon Contests, so I guess it's possible." Dawn laughed, a bit nervous.

"Hey! Now I remember! Didn't you win the Wallace Cup a few years back?" Lana asked.

Dawn nodded. "Oh yeah! I won it back on my first journey when it was in Sinnoh!"

"Hey, I remember it too! Our friend showed us videos of your performances when he was explaining Contests to us." Mallow remembered.

Lillie laughed. "He was with us before, but he left a little bit ago. Mallow did kind of drag him shopping with us, so I guess it's only natural that he'd try to leave."

Mallow turned to face Lillie. "Ash is lucky we haven't actually bought anything yet." She said, still feigning anger and annoyance, although clearly some percentage of her pouting was real.

Dawn did a double-take. "Hold on, did you say Ash?"

Mallow turned back to her new friend and nodded. "Yeah, that's our friend's name. He's the one who showed us the videos of you in that Wallace Cup."

Lana smirked. "And we got to see his performance too. I never thought I'd see Ash wear anything formal, much less an outfit that incorporated a fedora."

Mallow and Lana giggled at the thought. Dawn shook her head, laughing too. "Hold on, you all said you're on a field trip, right? I never thought I'd see Ash attend any kind of school!"

The three Alolan girls looked at Dawn inquisitively. "Wait, so do you know Ash?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah! We're really great friends! We travelled through Sinnoh together around when that Wallace Cup took place!"

"Hey, wait! Ash also mentioned that, didn't he? That he travelled around Sinnoh with a girl named Dawn?" Lillie perked up.

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that!" Mallow said. "Well, it's so great to finally meet another one of Ash's good friends! We would love for you to come shopping with us, and then we can take you back to the Pokémon Center to meet up with him!"

"You read my mind! That sounds great! I've been meaning to do some more shopping myself." Dawn fist pumped, resembling Ash.

The three girls giggled. "You looked exactly like Ash just there." Lana said.

Dawn paused for a moment, looking up at Piplup. She smiled sheepishly. "You're so right. I guess I'm glad we're talking about the same Ash."

The girls all laughed together, and went off to do some more shopping.

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Ash ran out of the Lilycove Department Store, out of breath. He had managed to get away from the girls using the crowds of people to hide his escape.

"Pika..." The mouse on Ash's shoulder sweatdropped as Ash finally stopped, putting his hands on his knees to recover.

"We finally managed to escape... girls are scary when they know what they want. There's no arguing with them, is there?" Ash asked, panting. Pikachu nodded in response.

Ash finally stood back up straight. "Let's head back to the Pokémon Center. I know Brock's busy and all, but hopefully we can chat tomorrow. I could still go for some food. Sound good, buddy?"

Ash and his partner made the trek back to the Pokémon Center, walking through the door, finally rid of the exhaustion from shopping. His classmates and the professors saw him walk in. They were all sitting at a table in the lobby.

"Hey, Ash! I see you managed to escape the girls." Kiawe said, smirking slightly.

Ash sweatdropped. "Yeah, by the skin of my teeth. If I'd been caught, I'd have been burned alive."

"Hey, Ash! Come try this food, it's great!!" Sophocles said between chewing.

Ash's eyes widened as he grinned. "Food?! Sweet!"

Brock walked out of the hallway and saw Ash sit down at the table and immediately start eating. He let out a hearty chuckle at the sight. "Ash will be Ash."

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"I'm glad we were able to pick up a few souvenirs at the shops!"

"Yeah! These necklaces are so cute!"

The girls had finally finished shopping. The girls, finally satisfied with their purchases, were almost to the Pokémon Center. They all carried small bags with souvenirs in them. As they entered the building, the girls saw their classmates and waved to the professors, who were facing them. They saw Ash and Sophocles eating at the table.

Dawn sighed, but still smiled. "Of course Ash is eating."

Mallow ran up to the table. "Hey, Ash! We found someone we think you might know!"

Ash turned around, his mouth still full. He grunted questioningly at her as he looked up from his sitting position. Almost immediately, he noticed the bluenette standing behind Mallow. His eyes widened and he almost spat out his food. He made another grunt in shock, but then decided he should swallow his food before trying to talk. He pounded on his chest in an attempt to remove the food from his throat.

"Jeez, Ash. You haven't changed at all, have you?"

Ash finally swallowed. "Dawn!! And Piplup too! It's so good to see you!" He stood up from his chair and walked towards the bluenette.

"It's great to see you too, Ash!" She smiled widely at him. She met Ash and the two shared a hug. They quickly separated and Ash held up his hand, motioning for their trademark high five. Dawn giggled and complied, and the sound almost seemed to echo.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu ran from the foot of Ash's seat at the table and jumped into Dawn's arms.

"Hey there, Pikachu! Long time, no see! Glad you're doing well, too!" Dawn brought the Pokémon close to her face, letting Pikachu nuzzle her. She let Pikachu go and Piplup jumped down from her shoulders to meet Pikachu on the ground. The two Pokémon hugged as well and were really happy to see each other.

"I'm guessing you'll be in the Cup?"

"That's right! I can't wait to compete!"

"We'll catch up when I'm done eating." Ash turned to his female classmates. "What'd you all end up getting?"

Mallow motioned to just below her neck. "Look at these, Ash! We got these super cute necklaces! Mine is a Roselia!"

Lana held hers out. "Mine's a Milotic! They're such beautiful Pokémon!"

Lillie held hers as well. "And mine's a Jirachi! It's supposedly a legendary Pokémon that grants wishes!"

"I like them! They suit you all well." Ash smiled.

Dawn took note of this, seeming surprised. "Ash, did you just... compliment girls on their looks?"

Ash turned to her in slight confusion. "Well, sure. What's that supposed to mean? It's not like it's a big deal or anything."

Dawn squinted. Ash had actually... matured? "Never mind. Go back to eating. I could go for some dinner myself."

"Great idea!" Ash agreed. He began to turn around but stopped midway, turning back to Dawn. "Hey Dawn! Guess what? Brock's here too!"

Dawn was surprised again. "You're kidding."

"Nope! He's Nurse Joy's assistant here while it's so busy! He'll probably come around here pretty soon!"

"That's great! It'll be so great to see Brock again too!"

"Yeah! We'll have the old gang back together for a bit! He's coming with us to see the Wallace Cup too." Ash said before sitting back down and continuing to eat.

All four girls sat down around the table. Professor Kukui turned to Dawn. "I recognize you as the girl that Ash travelled with in Sinnoh. It's very nice to meet you, young lady. I'm Professor Kukui, and I'm the teacher of this class. This next to me is my wife, Professor Burnet."

Kiawe waved as well. "I'm Kiawe. This one here matching Ash's appetite is Sophocles."

Dawn smiled and nodded. "It's very nice to meet you all!"

"We're looking forward to seeing you compete in the Wallace Cup! Ash is the only one of us who has seen a Contest live before." Professor Burnet said.

"You won't be disappointed! The Wallace Cup is sure to be filled with talented Coordinators from all over the world! I'll have my work cut out for me, for sure!" Dawn said.

"Good luck, Dawn! We know you'll be so great!" Mallow said to her new friend, smiling wide.

"Thanks, Mallow!" Dawn smiled back.

Brock walked back into the lobby, pushing a cart of trainers' Pokeballs. Dawn noticed Brock walk in and gasped. "Hey, there's Brock!"

She waved to her friend. "Brock!! Over here!! Hi!!"

Brock looked over to where his friends were sitting, and saw that the girls had finally come back, and they brought a guest. "No way, it's Dawn!" He handed over the Pokeballs to Nurse Joy before walking over to the table. He waved to Dawn.

"Dawn, it's so great to see you! It's been a long time!"

"Yeah, it sure has! It's great to see you, too!"

Ash looked between Dawn and Brock. He had a mouth full of food, but he said something that his friends could make out as, "Alright, the Sinnoh gang is back together!"

Dawn looked at Ash, playfully upset. "Ash, please don't talk with your mouth full."

Ash swallowed his food. "Hey, I'm just excited okay?? Just let me be happy without trying to make me have table manners on a field trip!"

"Ash, all of your friends are around, it's rude to talk with food in your mouth! You might spit your food on someone!"

"But if I have to wait to swallow my food, it could disrupt the flow of the conversation and cause an awkward silence!"

"Well it's worth not having food spit all over you. Have some decency, Ash Ketchum."

"Whatever."

Ash's friends sweatdropped but still smiled at the scene, enjoying the scene of two old friends bickering a bit. They were all used to Ash's table manners; or rather, lack thereof. They had certainly gotten used to it. Mallow was usually the one to try to fix his manners, but it always only seemed to be a temporary fix.

Brock smiled. "Neither of you two have changed at all. That's reassuring."

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"It's perfect."

A man hidden in shadows looked over his creation. He picked it up from the table and placed it on his wrist.

"This will undoubtedly work. My research is thorough, my programming is flawless."

He then looked to the two glowing orbs that were also on the table. He picked them up in his hands. "With these, I can summon the legendary Pokémon. I will finally be able to conduct my research on the Weather Pokémon."

Looking back and forth between the Red and Blue orbs, he grinned. "I don't care what happens to everyone else. I don't care what happens to the Pokémon, nor the people. All I care about is that I get to witness the legendary Pokémon with my own eyes; to see their power."

"I want to set them free."

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I know we haven't gotten to the AmourShipping yet, and I'm sorry I'm making y'all wait. But fear not, I promise it's coming soon.

Also, there's all kinds of timing inconsistencies, like with the days I mentioned in the first chapter, but I'm way too lazy to try to fix it now. Just know that the important shit is all there.

Also, here's some really cute fanart of Ash and Serena in the Sword/Shield attire!!

That's some cute shit right there. Credit goes to @ThaissaEmanuel7 on Twitter.

Speaking of which, who's ready for the direct on Wednesday?? I KNOW I AM!!!

Song is: "High Touch", the Second Japanese Opening of the Diamond and Pearl series.
You can find a link to this song in the external link below!